Microstransactions Heading To Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare has received a series of updates with its Zomboss Down DLC to increase coin payouts for gameplay, and it will be adding the option to buy coins with real money soon.

The coins are used to buy randomized card packs (think Mass Effect 3's multiplayer) that unlock new aesthetic options, characters, and other add-ons. At the game's launch, coins could only be earned through gameplay and could not be purchased. As we noted in our review, however, it seemed as though Garden Warfare was designed around adding the option to purchase coins from the Sticker Shop in the future.

Our TakeThis isn't a surprise, partly because of the game's model, but also because neither Electronic Arts or PopCap Games ever implied microtransactions were off the table. As far as microtransactions go, these seem fairly minor, and the recent update increasing general coin payout softens the impact of their addition even more. In our review of the game we called it "quasi-free-to-play". Maybe this microtransaction addition means the game will become a full free-to-play title in the near future – for better or worse.